Pat Hill came cheap when he broke into college football coaching a little more than 3½ decades ago.The Fresno State coach will take a more than $300,000 cut in guaranteed pay in 2011, an extraordinary concession to a school budget stretched thin by the troubled economy.

On a day in which Cam Newton could do no wrong, the Auburn quarterback out-ran and out-threw history. He undressed South Carolina's defense and even dressed a referee. But most of all, he carried the No. 2 Tigers to a Southeastern Conference championship and their first Bowl Championship Series title game with a 56-17 win over No. 16 South Carolina in the Georgia Dome on Saturday.

The NCAA has blinked. The last of the SEC surrendered Saturday; South Carolina by 39 points. There is nothing left to hold Auburn or Cam Newton back so long as you don't mind that nagging feeling that maybe we still don't know what we don't know.

Cam Newton passed for a career-best 335 yards and four touchdowns, plus ran for a couple of TDs to lead No. 2 Auburn past 16th-ranked South Carolina 56-17 for the Southeastern Conference title Saturday.

When the No. 1-ranked Oregon football team plays its regular-season finale Saturday at Oregon State, Oregon coach Chip Kelly will have a lot more at stake than a chance to play for the Bowl Championship Series national title.

No. 2 Auburn heads to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to play No. 11 Alabama on Friday in one of the most intriguing Iron Bowls in the history of the annual in-state showdown. Allegations of academic cheating and NCAA rules violations hang over Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, also the Heisman Trophy front-runner.

Thanks to Saturday's 49-31 victory against Georgia, Auburn will play for the Southeastern Conference title Dec. 4 against South Carolina in Atlanta. The week before, though, the No. 2 Tigers (11-0) must win at Alabama to keep alive hopes for a spot in the Bowl Championship Series title game.